Piezoelectric effect is generally known as generation of electric charge in certain non-conducting material when subjected to mechanical stress such as pressure or vibration or the generation of vibration in such material when they are subjected to an electric field. This generation of electric charge resulting from pressure is commonly known as piezoelectricity. Piezoelectric elements may be solid material such as crystals, certain ceramics and biological matter such as bone, DNA and various proteins. Piezoelectric elements are capacitive consumers, which, contract or expand, depending on the charge state in each case, i.e., depending on the emerging or applied voltage.
Piezoelectricity has found use in applications of vast type and nature such as production and detection of sound, generation of high voltages, electronic frequency generation, microbalances, to drive an ultrasonic nozzle, and ultrafine focusing of optical assemblies. It is also the basis of a number of scientific instrumental techniques with atomic resolution, the scanning probe, microscopes and everyday uses such as ignition source for push-start propane barbecues, and quartz watches.
Further, piezoelectric valves use special piezoelectric mechanism that allows speedy action and also allow very precise control to the flow of fluid. Due to this nature piezoelectric valves are commonly used in medical, automobile and aeronautical industry among others. Piezoelectric valves are used in implantable medical devices such as infusion pumps that are positioned within the human body to deliver minute amount of drugs to a specified locations.
It may be understood that due to the precise nature of the piezoelectric valves/piezoelectricity and industry implementation in various medical devices it is important to identify failure in the piezoelectric valves or circuit. However, the conventional methods only identify failure conditions of piezoelectric element.